We Are Those Parents

Last night was the Christmas program at Kate's school. We were definitely "those" parents, snapping photos, moving around to get the best angle, waving to our child when she looked for us in the crowd . . . then again, pretty much every parent there was acting the same way. It was so funny to see all the dads with their video cameras, standing off to the side. (What movie is it, where they show the kids' view from the stage and every parent has a video camera covering his or her face?)

It's crazy what pride and pleasure a parent gleans from these unpolished performances! I absolutely grinned from ear to ear like a loon throughout the whole thing.

Kate tried to come sit with us as she passed our row while processing in, but went on up front without too much trouble!

(The band-aid on her forehead, by the way, has become a permanent fixture lately. She had a strange bout of acne almost a month ago, and she kept picking at one spot on her forehead and one on her cheek such that they bleed again and thus will never heal if we don't keep them covered. I ran out of the small, flesh-colored band-aids.) 

Another kid had a meltdown while processing in, and burst into tears another couple times during the program. Poor kid.

It was so sweet, seeing her up there with her little friends. The boy (barely visible between the girls) had several meltdowns, and the girls entertained themselves while the other classes sang. The girl in the pink turtleneck played nervously with her shirt, pulling it up Mardi-Gras style, and the girl on the other side of Kate was a ringleader in lifting her skirt up, Kate and the other brunette imitating her briefly!

I have to say, Kate was very animated and did motions that went with the words even when no other child did. (I don't know if they cut the motions at the last minute, the other kids forgot, or maybe the teachers just did those to help the kids remember the words and Kate mimicked it, but it was cute!)

The most awww-inducing song was the pre-K kids' presentation of "The Friendly Beasts." The kids were dressed up as the animals from each verse of the song, and individual kids sang the verses corresponding to his or her animal. I had to lean over to Matt and whisper: "I'm a lobster." "In the nativity play?" "Yes. I'm First Lobster." "There was more than one lobster at the birth of Jesus?" (Who can name that movie? It's one of my holiday favorites!)

All the classes sang "Wasn't That a Mighty Day," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Kate's class did "Three Wise Men" (to the tune of "Three Blind Mice"). There was no soundtrack for their song, so the teacher held up the mic to amplify each child in turn.

Kate seemed to be having so much fun, hopping up and down sometimes, and clapping excitedly at the end of every song. 

She was almost as excited as me ;0)